Work styles inherited from the film industry have evolved in accordance with the needs imposed by the different ways of communicating with a constantly changing society. Thus, content update has accelerated, developing towards real-time information and converting a camera operator into a practically autonomous technician qualified to carry out his or her informative or reporting activity anywhere in the world with his or her work equipment.
In fact, during the 70 s zoom optics were implemented and smaller magnetoscopes were developed which made field reporting possible and gave rise to Electronic News Gathering or ENG.
Despite the advances in technology, this equipment was most often heavy, uncomfortable and even hazardous, forcing the operator to produce lower-quality work and even causing muscle aches and pains that develop into occupational diseases.
In this type of electronic reporting or ENG it is more complex to bear the weight of a video camera on a single shoulder for long periods of time, generating a situation of fatigue among these professionals, who are often forced to stop shooting when their muscle aches and pains worsen, producing lower-quality recordings. In all cases, these situations develop into occupational diseases.
The weight of the cameras range from 7 kg to more than 11 kg, depending on the technology used, due to which, from the viewpoint of ergonomics, using the camera in static and/or forced postures is a problematic and characteristic factor of graphic reporters.
The most common working posture of a reporter is standing up with the camera resting on his or her shoulder. On many occasions, reporters are forced to spend seemingly endless periods of time waiting with the camera on their shoulder ready to shoot and react in seconds. This implies that graphic reporters are at risk of suffering lumbar and back injuries due to bearing the weight of the camera on a single shoulder, together with flexion, hyperextension, rotation and lateralisation of the trunk, postures which are often combined.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 6,764,231 discloses a camera support destined for mounting on the operator's body, which is formed by a harness which is fitted on the shoulders and has an elongated member or strip that extends inferiorly and on which an articulation is mounted wherefrom an adjustably tilting telescopic and superiorly oriented column extends, having fixing means at its upper end for fixing the position of the camera. This support makes it possible to free the hands to handle the camera and is specially intended for use with photographic cameras, although its use with professional or very large video cameras is not feasible.